Hoisting tower



3 Sheets-Sheet 1 HOISTING TOWER Filed Aug. 9, 1941 H. A. WAGNER ETAL INVENTORS HAROLD A. WAG/YER GUS 7'14 VF H. WAGNER BY ATTORNEY IL :1 L

Aug. 24, 1943.

Aug. 24, 1943. H. A. WAGNER ETAL 2,327,476

HOISTINGV TOWER Filed Aug. 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 f/d'ro/a l4. Wag/7 er- Gusfare hf Wagn er Aug; 24, 1943. H. A. WAGNER' ETAL HOISTING TOWER Filed Aug. 9, 1941 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 f/VVf/VTORS Harold A. Wagner M 'ATTORNEY Gustave H Wagner BY {16 portable Patented Ad 24, 1943 iim'rso STATES assume em I noisrino some i J Harold Wagner and GllStflPQ .Vagncr,

Portland, (ircg.

August 9,1551

13 Claims. (Ci. 214-3 5) The present invention relates to hoisting towers, and more particularly to those of a portable type such as may be used for elevating materials on construction projects. While it is not necessarily so limited, the elevator tower arrangement is suitable for pivotal mounting upon a mo pable of adjustment to meet with. the requirements of each job, not only as to types of ma- I terial which may be handled thereby, but also as to the height of-the'tower. Time is a highly important element in construction work, and consequently the tower should be capable of being raised and lowered within a minimum period. All adjustments and operative features of the structure should. be imple soas to enable fool proof operation even by u-nskilled hands-.-

It is, therefore, an object of the present invenion to provide a new and improved elevator ower structure which is; relatively light in weight,

.stable to meet with varied requirements.

It is a more specific object of the present invent en to provide a new and improved elevator or structure including 'a bucket anda receivin hopper which is particularly applicable for use in connection with a concrete'mixing apparatus. 1

A iurther object of the invention is to-provid'e a new and improved elevator tower'structure hav ing a bulk material elevating bucket slidably mounted therein and ow -receiving hopper adjustably mounted on one of thetowenthe bucket hopper being so constructed that the bucket is automatically dumped as it is moved past the hoppeir Another object of the invention is to provides.

new and improved. elevator tower structure inclu g a hop mounted on one side of said tower and a bucket iidably mounted within-the tower and adapted for automatically dumping its contents into the hopper unoni its being moved particularly for use in construcin weight order that it can readily be imple and compact in design, and readily adthereby, the tower being so constructed that the honper may be positioned and the bucket dumped thereintc ,at'any point betweenthe opposite" limof travel.

Another object of the present invention is to nr'ovide an'open faced tower having a bucket slidabl-y'mounted therein and supported for tilting movement through the open face of the tower at substantially any point between the opposite limits of travel thereof.

Anoth r object of the invention is to provide an open faced elevator tower structure having a load handling carriage mounted for longitudinal slidingm'ovement within the tower, the carriage andccoperating guide rails being so constructed as substantially to preclude spreading of the tower sides during material elevatingoperations.

in accordance wi 11 the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the tewerstructure comprises a plurality of parallel uprights defining a longitudinalelevatcr shaft, the uprights being braced together around three sides of the tower wherebyth'e elevator shaft open along the front side of the tower. Anelevat'o-r bucket carriage is slid-ably mounted within the tower shaft upon guide rails secured to the opposite sides of the tower, the guiderails being flanged along their outer edges, while the bucket carriage is provided with. slides for fitting cooperatively around the rail. flanges. A bucket is pivotally supported within the carriage adjacent its lower end and is normally heldi'n an upright position. A hopper is adjustably mounted upon the front side of the tower so asto extend across the, open face is so constructedas to engage with a portion of the bucket as tliecarriage is moved therepast tocause forward tilting movement of the bucket through the open tower face ancldumpin'g of the bucket'contents into the hopper; The uprights the opposite sides of the front of the tower are provided with oppositely extending flanges and the hopper supporting structure includes a pair of slides extending cooperatively around such flanges. The slides of the hopper support and of the bucket supporting carriage thus engagingthetower act to preclude spreading of the tower. sides during the elevating operations. By virtue of the open faced tower design, the hopper may be positioned at any point along the front side thereof between the opposite limits of travel of the bucket-within the elevator shaft and the bucket contents automatically dumped therein". The tower being of relatively light Weight, and compact design, is particularly applicable for mounting upon the rear end of portable concrete mixer apparatus. The tower may be pivoted intermediate its ends upon the rear end of the mixer framework and transported thereupon in the horizontal position. For elevating the tower to the vertical operative position, means are provided for conveniently connecting the bucket hoisting cable to the lower end of the tower so that a separate hoisting drum is not required for raising the tower.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds, taken in Connection with the accompanying drawings, while the features of novelty will be pointed out with greater particularity in the appended claims.

in the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the tower structure shown mounted upon the rear end of a portable concrete mixer; Figure 2 is a side elevation of the structure corresponding to Figure 1; Figure 3 is a partial view in perspective of the tower structure including the elevatorbucket and receiving hopper; and Figure 1 is a fragmentary view illustrating the tower in the horizontal position for transportation.

7 Referring particularly to Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings, the elevator tower structure of the invention will be described as it may be applied to a mobile concrete mixer apparatus indicated generally at E. It will readily be appreciated, however, upon a perusal of this specification, that the invention is not necessarily so limited, in that the tower structure may be applied equally well to other apparatus and for purposes other than for handling merely concrete. Thus, for example, the concrete mixer l, insofar as the present disclosure is concerned, may be taken to represent any mobile vehicle'upon which it is desired to mount a portableelevator structure. Furthermore, it is not essential that the tower structure disclosed be mounted upon a mobile vehicle, since,- obviously, it can be stationarily mounted-in an upright position upon any suitable foundation. As illustrated, the longitudinal tower structure, indicated generally at 2, is suitably pivoted intermediate its ends at some point such as i upon an upper portion of the mixer framework 3. When in the Vertical position the lower end of the tower may be attached to the vehicleframework by means of a pair of braces 55 secured to the opposite sides of the framework 3 adjacent the lower end thereofl'theouter ends of the braces 5 being removably attached by pins 6 to the adjacent uprights of the tower. Other braces i may be connected between the tower above the pivot t and other suitable fixed parts. (not {shown) of the mixer superstructure for further steadying the tower in the elevated position. For lowering the tower, the braces 5 and i may be disconnected therefrom after which the tower may be pivoted about the bearing i to a horizontal position such as indicated in Figure 4. V i

A bucket 8 is mounted for longitudinal movement within the tower 2 by means of arable 9 trained over suitable guide pulleys on the tower structure and extending to a suitable winch drum 5 3 provided on the mixer unit. Adjustably mounted upon the front side of the tower 2 is a hopper H which is adapted to receive the contents from the bucket 3.

Referring more particularly tothe perspective view ofl 'igure 3, the tower structure 2 is formed of a plurality of parallel uprights which are braced together around three sides of the tower able desired leng only so that the front side of the tower is open substantially throughout the full length thereof, or, at least, throughout the full length of travel of the bucket 3 mounted therein. The front uprights i2 and i3 and the rear uprights 2B and 2% are spaced at right angles with respect to each other so as to define a substantially rectangular elevator shaft therebetween for the bucket 8. The rear up 'ights 29 and 2! are rigidly secured together by means of suitably spaced transverse members it while the front uprights i2 and 13 are rigidly secured to the rear uprights 20 and M, respectively, by a plurality of suitably spaced cross members iii extending thercbetween. An additional pair of rear uprights E5 and H are rigidly attached to the outer ends of the transverse members !8 which ends extend somewhat beyond the uprights 22: and M, respectively. Braces ll extend between the front uprights l2 and i3 and the uprights l5 and 5%, respectively, to increase the rigidity of the opposite sides of the tower as against lateral stresses, it being understood that there are no transverse mer bers extending between and rigidly uniting tl e 'ront uprights i2 and 13 intermediate their opposite ends. Suitable diagonal braces 26, 2'! may be provided as desired between the uprights around the three sides such as is shown between the uprights l3 and 2|.

While the towermay' be made'asa unitary structure of a predetermined length, it is preferred, foi reasons oi greate flexibility and adaptability to the requirements of varying needs, to construct the tower of aplurality of separate sections and'whichmaybe united together-end to end to 'i'o'rm a tower of any reason -Su'ch sections can readily be combined when the tower is in the lowered or horizontal position. In the view of Figure 3 the 'end portions of two such tower sections are shown removably attached together. The front uprights l2 and iS-of two sections may be secured together byrneans of overlapping plates 28 and 38 which may be fixed to the adjacent ends of-the two sections and bolted together by "bolts 32, s3. The rear side of the tower sections may be secured together by means of bolts 35 extending between pairs of cross members it at the adjacent ends of the two tower sections.

For guiding the movement of the bucket S within the elevator shaft of the tower, a pair of rails 45;, M are secured to the inner sides of the tower in a parallel relation'with respect to the various uprights. The guide rails maybe formed of any suitable metal memberssuch as T irons, the edge of the webs of which nay be welded to the trans verse brace members iii of the tower. The flat sides of the T shaped members thus face each other and define bearing surfaces for th bucket carriage within which the bucket Si is supported. The bucket carriage comprises a rectangular framework including a pair of double flanged slides 44 which fit over the oppositely extending flanges of the guide rails :29, 4!, the upper ends of the slides 44 being connected together by transverselyextending channel beams The bucket 8 is pivotally mounted within the carriage as at 38 on the ends of bracket arms 39 secured to the lower ends of the vertical frame members of the bucket carriage and extending outwardly therefrom toward, the front of the tower. It will be observed that the pivotal support forthe bucket is thus somewhat forwardly of the center of gravity thereof so that the upper end of the bucket is normally biased toward the rear side of V [or the bucket cari the tower. The bucket is maintained in the upright position within the supporting carriage,

t centrally thereof. By virtue of. the fact that the slides of the bucket carriage fitcooperative- .15; around the of the guider'ailslfi, 4%, disengagement of the bucket carriage from the guide rails during longitudinal movements thereof within the elevator shaft is positively preeluded. Another important ieature'of this cooperative arrangement of the guiderails and the ;arriage slides is that there will be no tendency h to spread the opposite side walls of the tower unbalanced load obt ing within the bucket or for any other reason; Thus the bucket carriago will tend effectively to hold the towerside walls together in a predetermined spacedre oh. I

The hopper ii mo-unted'uponthe nt side the tower is of'a width srbs'tantially'eoual to that of the tower, or at least, The hopper is supported ups-the tower by means including a pair of oppositely di sec parallel slides which are cooperatively arranged upr the sliding surfaces provided nt'i rights l2 and I3. Thefront uprights, in this instance, are formed of angle irons having one pair of flanges extending away from each other opposite directions prov" l ng surfaces in the pie e of the nt side for-the slides 553. The slides ii include channel efle extend around the edges o-f' the op tending fi ages the upr 1135132 and lilond, since the slides are rigidly securedtogether in a predetermined spaced through the structure of the hopperpro'pelythere will be no tendency on the part of the hopp loaded, to exert any lateral stresses tower structure which might cause spreading of the tower sides. In this respect, the supporting structure for the hopper H cooperateswith the bucket carriag in precluding any wedging apart action upon the tower sides.

The hopper may be raised to any predetermined tion upon the face of the tov-ler'hymeans of cable 9 which may temporarily be 6 co nected fro the buchet'supporting ca" a o suit abiy'connected to the hopper -or effecting: the positioning thereof by means of th power driven winch drum r holding the hopper in the adjusted position su table such as a pair of chains 52 be provided, oneehd of each bebig suitably co cctcd to the l oppe gwyhilethe other end behocked around the frontiuprights as shown in Figure 2. may be of any suitable construction, bei g, prefe ably provided with a bottom wall 5 3 'slopiugjdown,- wardly and outwardly from the tower, and having discharge chute 5:; at thelowermost eh dthereof with a suitable closure rolling the flow of material therefrom, cenable the-Lo er ator readily to ciimo the tower, as ior f the chains place and-for d cable from i re hopper, a ladder it. is proyided along one siueof the tower. ,v

Means are provided ioreffecting automatically the dumping of the contents from th bucket. 3 into the hopper, l i as the bucket carriage is moved upwardly in the tower It will be closer ed that the bucket Bissomewhat however tho i The hopper itself past the hopper.

deeper than the shaft defined by the tower uprights so that the foremost portion thereof projects outwardly from the forward face of the tower. Attached to one side wall of the bucket adjacent the upperend thereof and near the forward edge portion projecting beyond the front side of thetower is a roller 56 arranged on a suit able shaft 51. Mounted upon the upper surface of the hopper. H for cooperative engagement by bucket to swing outwardly, dumping its contents intothe hopper H. After the contents have been from the bucket 8 the'carriagg is lowered, the bucket will again assume its upright position within the bucket carriage.

It will b observed that due to the open design of the tower, the. hopper be pastioned; at any height between the lhnits of movement oi the bucket carriage and the bucket will -crete mixing apparatus.

her to the carriagebeams: 5 for stabin automaticallybe dumpedinto i'twithout requiring any further adjustments. This remains true irrespective of the number of Sections added to the tower.

The hoisting cable 9- extending from the winch drum Mom-the mixeris trained over an idler pulley mounted on the lower portion of the mixer frame 3 and another idler pulley E 5 mount ed on an upper portion of the miixer frame adjacent the tower pivot 4. From pulley the cable extends to the top of the tower and is trained over a pair of pulleys 6'!- and 65 mounted upon the superstructure unit. The super tructure unit comprises a pluralitycf upri lrts i9 rigidly secured together as by cross braceslll and having a-pair of cross head channels "1! between which the pulleys B1. and 68' are journaled, The superstructure unit may be bolted as at 12 and Tito the, upper endof, any terminal tower section in the. same manner as the various tower sections are. fastenedtogether, From the centrally positioned pulley. 63, the cable- -3 extends down through the elevator shaft and is connected to the bucket carriage. as described.

Inlthe lowered position of the bucket carriage, concrete may be loaded into the buc-wt from the mixer by manipulation of the conventional spoon on the rear end of the rni. It is to be unde stood,; however, that the arrangement described is in no way limited in its applicability tea con- While in the specific embodiment of. the invention described deta l a bull; material handling bucket is ..l0WIlll1Cll ed. within the .travelhigcarriage, it will be c vious that any desired for? or. load means is represented thereby; If a platform substituted therefor,- a member-correspondingto the stop 46' may be secured in any suitab mam g 1i). Also,thehoppe r may readily be removed from the tower if its use is not required for the job at hand.

In Figure 4 the. tower is" shown in the lowered or horizontal position: as. fc'rtraveling; In order to maintainv the over. all: height of the structure in this position: at a. minimum, the hopper i i may be removed from the tower face by sliding it from the lower end thereof and suspended by suitable means, such as the chains 52, from the overhanging lower end of the tower.

When the operator desires to erect the tower to the vertical operative position, the hopper l! is first removed from the suspended position, and the end of the cable 9 is detached from the bucket carriage and suitably anchored to the tower as to the upright position is. The tower may then be anchored by fastening of the braces 5 and I, after which the blocks i6, 11 may be removed, the hopper mounted on the front of the tower, and the end of cable 9 again attached to the bucket carriage for normal operation.

For lowering the tower the procedure is substantially the reverse to that just described.

The cable from thepulley 65 extends Thus, with the cable arrangement as described,

either raising or lowering of the tower may be expediently'effected by the single cable and winch drum provided for hoisting the bucket. Also, the same cable is utilized for making adjustments of the hopper on the front of the tower.

Having described the invention in what is con sidered to be a preferred embodiment thereof, it is to be understood that the various specific details shown are primarily illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

What we claim is: 1. In a device of the class described, the conibination comprising a tower formed of a plurality of separable sections secured together in an'end to end relation, said tower being adaptedto be conveyed from place to place in a horizontal position upon a'vehicle, a hinge connection between the tower and the vehicle to allow the to-werto be raised to a vertical operative position upon reaching a destination, said tower including said sections being box-like in shape having an open face strengthening cross members along its two sides and back, said hinge connection being secured to the back side of said tower, a hopper adapted to be mounted at any desired height upon said tower, a'bucket adapted for conveying materials upwardly within said tower to the height, of

said hopper, and means associated with said hopper for causing said bucket to move into dumping position upon said bucket reachingthe height of said hopper.

2. An elevator arrangement comprising a tower structure adapted to be pivotally secured adjacent one end thereof to a vehicle, said tower being further adapted to be transported horizontally upon said vehicle and shifted to a vertical operative position, said tower comprising a rectangular arrangement of parallel uprights, means bracing said uprights along one pair of opposite sides and across the rear side, said tower being open along the front side, a bucket longitudinally movable within said tower between said uprights, a pair of guides secured to the opposite sides of said tower, a supporting carriage for saidbucket slidably mounted on said guides, said bucket being pivotally mounted to said carriage adjacent the lower end thereof and forwardly of the center of gravity of said bucket, a stop extending upwardly from the upper edge of said bucket and engaging with said carriage to prevent rearward tilting of said bucket in said carriage, a hopper adjustably supported entirely upon the'forwardmost of said uprights, and means on said hopper for engaging said bucket and causing forward tilting of said bucket within said carriage upon movement of said carriage past said hopper.

3. An elevator'arrangement comprisin a tower structure including pairs of front and rear parallel uprights, cross members securing said rear uprights together; cross members securing said front uprights to corresponding rear uprights, said tower being open at the front'side, a bucket carriage slidably arranged for movement longitudinally of said tower between said uprights, a bucket pivotally mounted upon said carriage for forward tilting movement between said front uprights, a hopper slidably secured to said front uprights and removable from the lowermost ends thereof, and means on said hopper to be cooperatively engaged by said bucket as said carriage is moved upwardly relative to said tower for for-- wardly tilting said bucket and causing dumping of the contents thereof into said hopper.

4. An elevator apparatus comprising a tower structure including a plurality of parall l uprights, a pair of front uprights defining an open side for said tower, a bucket carriage slidably mounted within said tower between one pair of oppositely disposed side uprights, a bucket pivotally mounted within said carriage so as normally to assume an upright position, said bucket being tiltable through said open side of said tower,

a'receiver adapted to be adjust-ably positioned adjacent the front side of said tower at any point along the extent thereof, said receiver being a"- ranged wholly on the outside of said tower and means on said receiver for engaging said bucket as said bucket carriage is moved upwardly with- .in said tower for effectin tilting of said bucket and the unloading of the contents thereof into said receiver.

5. An elevating apparatus comprising a tower including a plurality of uprights, transverse members rigidly securing said uprights together around three sides of said tower defining a substantially rectangular elevator shaft open along the front side for substantially the full length thereof, a bucket carriage mounted for longitudinal movement in said shaft, a bucket pivotally mounted in said carriage, the front edge of said bucket normally extending beyond the front side of said tower, and means for effecting forward pivotal movement of said bucket throughsaid front tower side.

v6. An elevating apparatus comprising a tower including a plurality of parallel uprights, means bracing said uprights together along one pair of opposite sides and along the rear side of said tower, the front side of said tower being open substantiallythroughout the full length thereof, a bucket carriage slidably mounted between the opposite sides of said tower, a bucket mounted in said carriage, the front edge of said bucket in the upright position thereof extending substantially between the uprights defining the front side of said tower, a pivotal mounting for said bucket upon said carriage, the axis of said pivotal mounting extending horizontally and parallel with the front side of said tower, means for moving said carriage and bucket'longitudinally of said tower, and means adapted to be adiustably secured to the front side of said tower at any point thereof between the limits of movement of said bucket carriage for engaging said bucket and causing tilting thereof through said open tower side for unloading said bucket.

'7. In a mobile concrete mixer apparatus, a tower comprising a plurality of parallel uprights, said uprights defining front, rear, and opposite sides for said tower and a longitudinal rectangular elevator shaft therebetween, means bracing said uprights rigidly together along said rear and opposite sides, the front side of said tower being open substantiall throughout the full length thereof, said tower being pivotally supported adjacent one end to said mixer, the'open side of said tower facing away from said mixer,

a bucket carriage slidably arranged for longitudinal movement within said tower, a bucket pivotally supported within said carriage for tilting movement through said open side of said tower, the front side of said bucket in theiupright position thereof extending substantially between the tower uprights defining the front side thereof.

a hopper slidably mounted upon the front side of tower and adapted to be adjust-ably secured thereto at any point between limits of movement of said carriage, and means provided on said hopper for effecting emptying of said bucket into said hopper.

8. In a mobile mixer apparatus including a framework, an elevating tower structure com 7 zontal axis, said tower being adapted to be transported in a horizontal position on said framework, a bucket carriage slidably mounted within said tower for longitudinal movement therein, a

bucket pivotally mounted within said carriage for tilting movement through the open side of said tower, the front side of said bucket in the upright position thereof extending substantiall between the tower'uprights defining the front side thereof, and receiver means slidably secured upon said last mentioned uprights for receiving con tents from said bucket, said receiver means being removable from the lower ends of said uprights.

9. An elevator apparatus comprising a plurality of parallel uprights defining a longitudinal elevator shaft, means fastening said uprights together around three sides of said shaft, said shaft being open along the front side, a carriage slidably mounted within said shaft for movement longitudinally thereof, means for receiving cond tower substantially the full length thereof, elev'ator carriage slidably mounted within said Qaftfor movement longitudinally thereof, a pair f guide rails secured to the inner opposite sides aid tower parallel with said uprights, said ails having oppositely extending flanges along the outer edge thereof, slides on the opposite sides of said carriage and fitting cooperatively around said guide rail flanges whereby spreading of said tower sides upon movement of said carriage longitudinally thereof is substantially preeluded.

11. An elevator comprising a plurality of parallel uprights defining a tower structure having a longitudinal elevator shaft therein, means fastening said uprights together around three sides of said shaft, said shaft bein open along the front side of said tower, a load carriage slidably mounted within said shaft, 2. pair of guide rails secured to the inner opposite sides of said tower having a pair of oppositely extending flanges along the outer edge thereof, channel slides fitting cooperatively around said flanges secured to tents from said carriage, support means for said contents receiving means comprising a pair of slides mounted upon a pair of said uprights on the opposite sides of said front side, said slides bein removable from the lowermost ends of said last mentioned uprights.

10. An elevator comprising a plurality of par.- allel uprights defining a tower having a longitudinal elevator shaft therein, means fastening said uprights together around three sides of said tower, said shaft being open along the front side i ity of parallel uprights defining a tower structure having a longitudinal elevator shaft therein,

means fastening said uprights together around three sides of said tower, said shaft being open along the front side of said tower, an. elevator bucket slidably mounted within said shaft for movement longitudinally thereof, said bucket being 'tiltable through the open front side of said tower for dumping the contents thereof, a hopper for receiving the contents from said bucket, a pair of said uprights on the opposite sides of said front side forming a pair of guide rails having oppositely extendingfianges, means for supporting said hopper on said guide rails includin a pair of slides having portions extending around said flanges, said hopper supporting means being movable longitudinally of said tower across the open front side thereof, said hopper and support- 7 operatively around said rail flanges, a hopper slidably mounted upon the front side of said tower for receiving the contents from said bucket, a pair of said uprights defining the front side of said tower having a pair of oppositely extending flangeaand a supporting structure for said hopper including a pair of slides extending around said upright flanges. 1 HAROLD A, WAGNER.

GUSTAVE H. WAGNER. 

